A new study has found that high blood pressure can impair one’s breathing capacity by hardening the airways in the respiratory system, thereby increasing resistance. The study was a study published in the journal Advances in Respiratory Medicine and conducted by researchers from the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The study, however, found that being physically active can help by improving the functioning of respiratory muscles, resulting in better coordination between ventilation and blood flow in the lungs.
Hypertension is a condition in which one’s blood pressure remains unusually high. The condition is also known to thicken the blood vessels and harden the arteries. The researchers said that something similar happens with the bronchi which are branches of the main windpipe (trachea) in the respiratory system as well.
Rodolfo de Paula Vieira, an invited professor at the Federal University of Sao Paulo and last author said, “This is very important as the more hardened the bronchi becomes, the more difficult it becomes for air to enter and leave the lungs. In the long run, this accelerated process of hardening of the bronchi makes breathing difficult for older people. Worse still, it's a cycle: lower oxygen saturation accelerates the ageing process throughout the organism.
” However, performing physical activity was found to partly protect the airways from hardening due to increased blood pressure. The authors said, “We conclude that systemic arterial hyper.